Messiah: Part I, No 9.a. O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion (Chorus)

1:43

Messiah: Part I, No 10. For, Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth

Alastair Miles, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis

2:26

Messiah: Part I, No 11. The People That Walked In Darkness

Alastair Miles, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis

3:11

Messiah: Part I, No 12. For Unto Us a Child Is Born

4:06

Messiah: Part I, No 13. Pifa

3:08

Messiah: Part I, Nos 14a-16. There Were Shepherds Abiding In the Field

1:54

Messiah: Part I, No 17. Glory to God

1:39

Messiah: Part I, No 18. Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion

4:39

Messiah: Part I, No 19. Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind

0:27

Messiah: Part I, No 20. He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd

4:58

Messiah: Part I, No 21. His Yoke Is Easy

2:11

Messiah: Part II, No 22. Behold the Lamb of God

3:33

Messiah: Part II, No 23. He Was Despised

9:56

Messiah: Part II, No 24. Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs

2:20

Messiah: Part II, No 25. And With His Stripes We Are Healed

2:41

Messiah: Part II, No 26. All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray

4:09

Messiah: Part II, No 27. All They That See Him Laugh Him to Scorn

0:49

Messiah: Part II, No 28. He Trusted In God

2:28

Messiah: Part II, No 29. Thy Rebuke Hath Broken His Heart

2:27

Messiah: Part II, No 30. Behold, and See If There Be Any Sorrow

1:27

Messiah: Part II, No 31. He Was Cut Off Out of the Land of the Living

0:22

Messiah: Part II, No 32. But Thou Didst Not Leave His Soul In Hell

2:29

Messiah: Part II, No 33. Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates

3:12

Messiah: Part II, No 34. Unto Which of the Angels Said He At Any Time

0:15

Messiah: Part II, No 35. Let All the Angels of God Worship Him

1:27

Messiah: Part II, No 36. Thou Art Gone Up On High

Alastair Miles, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis

3:22

Messiah: Part II, No 37. The Lord Gave the Word

1:11

Messiah: Part II, No 38. How Beautiful Are the Feet

2:26

Messiah: Part II, No 39. Their Sound Is Gone Out

1:36

Messiah: Part II, No 40. Why Do the Nations So Furiously Rage Together?

Alastair Miles, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis

2:41

Messiah: Part II, No 41. Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder

1:43

Messiah: Part II, No 42. He That Dwelleth In Heaven

0:16

Messiah: Part II, No 43. Thou Shalt Break Them

2:06

Messiah: Part II, No 44. Hallelujah

3:43

Messiah: Part III, No 45. I Know That My Redeemer Liveth

6:01

Messiah: Part III, No 46. Since By Man Came Death

2:19

Messiah: Part III, No 47. Behold, I Tell You a Mystery

Alastair Miles, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis

0:36

Messiah: Part III, No 48. The Trumpet Shall Sound

Alastair Miles, London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis

8:38

Messiah: Part III, No 49. Then Shall Be Brought to Pass

0:19

Messiah: Part III, No 50. O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?

1:10

Messiah: Part III, No 51. But Thanks Be to God

2:04

Messiah: Part III, No 52. If God Be for Us

4:50

Messiah: Part III, No 53a. Worthy Is the Lamb That Was Slain

3:28

Messiah: Part III, No 53b. Amen

4:12

Sir Colin Davis on Handels's Messiah (Bonus Video)

Sir Colin Davis

7:26

54 Songs

℗ 2007 London Symphony Orchestra Ltd

About London Symphony Orchestra

Formed in 1904 by a group of 46 musicians who had resigned from London's Queen's Hall Orchestra because of change in policy, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is an ensemble of "firsts." It was the first orchestra in England to set up a self-governing administrative structure, the first to tour North America, and the first to accept commercial sponsorship. Known as one of England's most gifted and versatile ensembles, it is the resident orchestra at London's famous Barbican Centre. This and the fact that the LSO tours extensively; has provided music for countless films, radio broadcasts, and television productions; and records prolifically has helped to consolidate the group's reputation as one of the world's leading orchestras.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, London musicians worked on a strictly freelance basis, finding work where they could for the highest possible fee. In 1904, Henry Wood, conductor of the Queen's Hall Orchestra, decided that he could no longer tolerate the chaos of the situation and hired players as full-time employees with a small but guaranteed wage for about 100 scheduled performances a year. Many of the best musicians, who were in great demand and who stood to lose a significant portion of their earnings through this restriction, resigned from Wood's ensemble and formed their own, self-governing orchestra.

Soon after its creation, the LSO invited Hans Richter to be its first conductor. He accepted the position on the condition that the orchestra increase its number to at least 100 players. Although Richter conducted a great many of the orchestra's concerts during his eight-year tenure, the group also attracted numerous other distinguished conductors to the podium. These included Nikisch, Steinbach, and Elgar. In so doing, the LSO promoted the idea of guest conductors in English musical society.

Two years after its foundation, the orchestra played its first concerts outside England; two concerts in Paris. Under the direction of Nikisch in 1912, the LSO became the first British orchestra to tour North America, presenting 28 concerts in 21 days, beginning and ending with performances in New York's Carnegie Hall.

Over the next 50 years, the LSO was lead by a number of gifted and distinguished conductors including Sir Thomas Beecham, Albert Coates , Sir Hamilton Harty, Josef Krips, Pierre Monteux, Istvan Kertesz, André Previn, and Claudio Abbado. All of these men, in addition to the many guest conductors and artists invited to work with the LSO, left their marks on the orchestra; shaping and honing the virtuosity of its players into an ensemble of great sensitivity and versatility.

The orchestra's association with the film industry began in 1922 when Walter Wanger, head of United Artists, hired the LSO to play for the presentation of silent films at Covent Garden's Opera House. Since then, the ensemble has provided music for numerous films including the Star Wars series for which the LSO won a platinum disc.

The LSO's connection with the BBC goes back to 1924 when Ralph Vaughan Williams conducted the orchestra in the premiere broadcast performance of his Pastoral Symphony. The LSO was the unofficial orchestra in residence for the BBC until the formation of the BBC Symphony in 1930 and has continued to broadcast concerts and provide background music for many BBC productions.

When Michael Tilson Thomas replaced Abbado in 1987, he set about securing the organization's financial as well as musical future by encouraging the LSO to accept corporate sponsorship. Conducted by Sir Colin Davis from 1995 to 2006, who was succeeded by Valery Gergiev in 2007, the London Symphony Orchestra has long enjoyed its well-deserved reputation as a pioneer in several areas of British orchestral history and is a highly versatile and distinguished world-class ensemble.